What is the Enterprise

[JeffinOakland]

A fellow Trekkie opined that he thought The Enterprise of TNG was meant primarily as a sort of glorified cruise ship. It's primary function would seem to be ferrying ambassadors and other dignitaries around and the science and exploration and defending the federation are secondary priorities. I think he has the ship's priorities backward. What do you think?

 

[C.E. Evans]

A long-range multipurpose vessel.

 

[Commander Richard]

It wasn't meant to be a ferry for ambassadors as a primary function, it just turned out that way due to the writing, or circumstance if you're talking in-show.

 

[JeffinOakland]

I mean more like what did did Picard/Riker understand their priorities to be as far as what the Enterprise is "for".

 

[Commander Richard]

Exploration & Diplomacy

 

[Vandervecken]

A long-range multipurpose vessel.

what he said.

Look at all the different things a crewed Enterprise can do. Fight wars. Survey every single kind of astronomical territory or event. Cure diseases. Transport whole peoples. Fix major ecological/planetophysical problems. Stop soliton waves.

But I do think the singular attention we see to the weapons array in the ship's design and bridge crew suggest that defense at least as manifestation of violence was its primary purpose. Not sole, not even majority, but primary.

 

[JeffinOakland]

If defense is its primary function, then why are civilians (esp children) allowed on board. This has always been a frequently discussed sticky wicket concerning ST:TNG. Space exploration and battles are incredibly dangerous, yet we are given no indication that they offboard noncombatants every time things get hairy and pick them back up for the ambassador trips. Certainly, adults accept the risks but children can't.

 

[BillJ]

The functions of the Enterprise were all over the place. First responder to pretty much every military emergency, sector command ship, ambassador taxi service and a little exploration tossed in from time to time.

 

[Arpy]

If defense is its primary function, then why are civilians (esp children) allowed on board. This has always been a frequently discussed sticky wicket concerning ST:TNG. Space exploration and battles are incredibly dangerous, yet we are given no indication that they offboard noncombatants every time things get hairy and pick them back up for the ambassador trips. Certainly, adults accept the risks but children can't.

Exploration isn't as dangerous as all that. Most of space is empty and most of the life actually found is not intelligent or as advanced as the Federation. The Galaxy Class was designed to be a scientific community - a city in space - and a "fortress" ("Preemptive Strike") at that. That's why families were permitted on board - because the ships would be on long, relatively safe missions. For wall we know, there were thirty other Galaxy Class starships away on decades-long missions that never saw combat, some of which too far to recall for the Dominion War or were strategically kept far away in boring distant space in case the Borg wiped everybody out.

Those Galaxy Class starships assigned closer to home would ferry people around as well ("The Perfect Mate"), as well as host summits ("The Price"), and conduct complex scientific tests ("Suspicions") - all of which were safe for the chil'ens - in between charting missions and the like. When we've seen the ship at war (alt. univ. "Yesterday's Enterprise") families were not present.

 

[JeffinOakland]

All 3 Enterprises found themselves frequently in extremely dangerous situations at a moment's notice while on exploration mode.

 

[HIjol]

She is the Lady Vehicle that drives the franchise and the story, often more than any other "character", and her form has penetrated the DNA of many who love the Voyages.

 

[2takesfrakes]

This "DNA penetration" theorem may require some hashing out, sir ... some further refinement, perhaps ...

 

[somebuddyX]

The Enterprise-D was meant to be a long range explorer type that goes out into deep space for long periods of time, so having families onboard kinda makes sense since it would be like a city in space and they could shove them in the saucer section and have the stardrive go into battle. Except the writers didn't stick to that plan and kept the ship running around the Federation doing various missions and going into battle against Borg and Romulans or whoever and the grandfather clause prohibited throwing all the kids overboard. Yeah it sucks but if you look at two competing ideas smashed together then you can see why it is the way it is.

 

[TwoJakes]

If defense is its primary function, then why are civilians (esp children) allowed on board

Military bases are packed with civilian workers, government employees and families (including children).

Warships also have government employees (intelligence/law enforcement), and rarely civilian workers.

yet we are given no indication that they offboard noncombatants

In Yesterday's Enterprise, Guinan was still working in Ten Forward. The Enteprise was primarily in combat there.

In Chain of Command I can't remember any mention of civilians being offloaded, even though combat was considered likely.

Families might have still been aboard during the Dominion War.

 

[Arpy]

All 3 Enterprises found themselves frequently in extremely dangerous situations at a moment's notice while on exploration mode.

They also all made woosh noises as they passed by the camera in the vacuum of outer space. I'm not getting too worked up about that either.

I am being too snarky. Trek set up the Enterprise more realistically, then put it in unrealistic scenarios where every week it was in danger. Think about the real world. How often do US warships face mortal danger from sophisticated new threats week after week? Why are cruise ships permitted to travel in empty international seas without military escorts? ...It's a TV show that outdoes itself putting the [safe] ship in unusual situations.

 

[Lance]

I believe the TNG technical manual makes the case that it's supposed to be a multi-purpose vessel. Capable of many and varied mission statements, the sorts of things that may have required specialist ships/crews in the past, whereas the Galaxy Class is kind of supposed to be capable of all of those things. Drop it into a combat or diplomatic mission and it's supposed to be equally capable of both.

The Constitution Class Enterprise (in theory) had the same kind of broad mission statements, ferrying ambassadors from time to time etc, but in practice it generally came across as a much more military vessel, even before the advent of the movies seen it go ever further down that path. The truth is that despite Starfleet's benign intentions, it was often at the front line of protecting the Federation's sovereign interests against incursions by (primarily) the Klingons.

I guess the truth is that it depends on what the Federation's interests are at the time.

 

[USS Triumphant]

Star Trek Online lists the Enterprise-D as a Galaxy-class "Exploration Cruiser". It has always seemed to me that the intention for the ship, before those plans met the battlefield that was actual script-writing, so to speak, was for it to be a deep space explorer - families onboard, spacious and luxurious accommodations, etc. Too much input from people trying to use Treknology to design what we would actually want in a deep space explorer in the real world, and not enough from people trying to use the design to drive the action and drama of a TV show.

 

[Kor]

A fellow Trekkie opined that he thought The Enterprise of TNG was meant primarily as a sort of glorified cruise ship. It's primary function would seem to be ferrying ambassadors and other dignitaries around and the science and exploration and defending the federation are secondary priorities. I think he has the ship's priorities backward. What do you think?

Yes, the Enterprise-D is a five-star luxury hotel in space, with spacious suites offering top-of-the-line amenities for all officers and crew and their whole families, an upscale lounge with all kinds of exotic gourmet fine dining and beverages, and cutting-edge recreation rooms that can fulfill your every fantasy. Enlist in Starfleet for an unforgettable high-class resort experience in space.

But they don't take American Express.

Kor

 

[HIjol]

This "DNA penetration" theorem may require some hashing out, sir ... some further refinement, perhaps ...

Nothing to do but go to Warp Speed, now!...

 

[Kor]

And achieving warp 10 increases it exponentially, as we all know that giant salamanders are so much more advanced than homo sapiens sapiens.

Kor